In order to decorate the surface of the article which has the complicated three-dimensional surface, there has been used a water pressure transfer method in which the water pressure transfer film which has a print pattern of non-water solubility on a water-soluble film is floated on the water surface in a transfer tub while the water soluble film of the water pressure transfer film is made wet by water, an article (an object to be pattern-transferred) is immersed underwater within the transfer tab while contacting the print pattern of the water pressure transfer film and the print pattern of the water pressure transfer film is transferred to the surface of the article using the water pressure generated against the surface of the article on the immersion of the article to thereby form a decoration layer.
In order to impart a matting effect to the decoration layer, a matting agent such as resin beads or particulate silica has been used and the matting agent is added to and distributed by a topcoat layer generally applied on the decoration layer transferred and formed on the article (Patent Document 1).
On the other hand, the applicant has already proposed the invention in which a decoration layer is formed by a water pressure transfer while an abrasion resistance, solvent resistance, etc. imparted to the decoration layer itself without applying a topcoat layer on the decoration layer (see Patent Documents 2 through 6). In these methods, since the water pressure transfer is performed in the state where by applying an ultraviolet ray hardening resin composite containing a non-solvent type activating component such as photo-polymerization monomer to a dried print pattern of a water pressure transfer film in order to reproduce an adhesion to the dried print pattern of the water pressure transfer film, the adhesion of the print pattern is reproduced by the activating component of this ultraviolet ray hardening resin composite and the ultraviolet ray hardening resin composite permeates the whole print pattern. Thus, as the ultraviolet ray hardening resin composite within the print pattern is hardened by ultraviolet ray irradiation, there is a state where the ultraviolet ray hardening characteristic is imparted also to the decoration layer formed by the print pattern and therefore, chemical and mechanical surface protection functions such as solvent resistance and abrasion resistance are given to the decoration layer itself. In this water pressure transfer method, in order to provide the matting effect by addition of the matting agent, the matting agent is added to the activator comprising the ultraviolet ray hardening resin composite for activating the water pressure transfer film (Patent Documents 3 through 6).
(Part 1 of the Matting Appearance Mechanism by the Matting Agent)
The matting action by the matting agent appears by scattering lights due to fine unevenness on the surface of the topcoat layer formed on the decoration layer, which unevenness is caused by the matting agent existing near the surface of the topcoat layer. Therefore, in case where the matting agent is distributed in the topcoat layer TC as shown in FIG. 5, since the topcoat layer TC is the outermost surface of the portion of the article where it is decorated by the water pressure transfer, the matting action by the matting agent can appear comparatively easily on the surface of the topcoat layer. In FIG. 5, a reference numeral 10 designates the article and a reference numeral 44 designates the decoration layer.
(Part 2 of the Matting Appearance Mechanism by the Matting Agent)
On the other hand, in the method of adding a matting agent to the activator of such as ultraviolet ray hardening resin composite as disclosed in Patent Documents 2 through 6 and distributing within the decoration layer, as the activator permeates the print pattern and is hardened by ultraviolet ray within the decoration layer after the water pressure transfer, a surface protection function is imparted to the decoration layer itself and therefore the steps of the operation can be simplified because the topcoat layer becomes unnecessary. However, the matting agent MA (see FIG. 6) is unevenly located near the activator applied surface (transfer face side) of the transfer film before transfer and on the other hand, the fluid component of the activator permeates the ink layer of the print pattern and therefore the matting agent MA exists between the substrate which is the article and the decoration layer 44 after transfer, which causes the degree of formation of fine unevenness of the decoration layer 44 by the matting agent to get smaller (in comparison with FIG. 5). Thus, if the addition of the matting agent has the same condition, the method using the ultraviolet ray hardening resin composite having the matting agent added thereto without the topcoat layer must lower the matting effect in comparison with the method of adding the matting agent to the topcoat layer. If more matting agent is added in order to avoid this, then the viscosity of the activator would become higher and therefore, if would become difficult to apply the activator to the water pressure transfer film and accordingly the activator would become difficult to permeate the print pattern of the water pressure transfer film. Thus, the activation function and the surface protection function are lowered and even if the activation function and the surface protection function were obtained by some degree, the close adhesion between the substrate of the article and the decoration layer 44 is disadvantageously lowered. In the invention in which an unevenness is formed on the surface of the decoration layer by the activator of the ultraviolet ray hardening resin composite to provide a finger touch feeling, there occurs a problem in which as the matting agent in the activator increases, it becomes difficult to produce the surface unevenness and cannot obtain a predetermined finger touch feeling. Thus, sufficient matting effect with the quality of the pattern-transferred article maintained cannot be obtained only by using the conventional technology of adding the matting agent to the topcoat layer.